My adventure started at 4:45 am (after a sleepless night of packing and trying to get ahead on homework) on Monday morning. I have to give a shout-out to my amazing friend, Jess, for getting out of bed just to drive me to the bus depot in Minneapolis! A few hours into the ride I was chatting with my seatmate, a dear woman in her seventies, who shared with me that she had three adopted granddaughters from Ukraine, Guatemala, and Rwanda. What a privilege to talk with her and be reminded of why I had applied for the title of Miss Wisconsin International in the first place!
I finally arrived at the hotel and met my roommate, Ashley (Miss Oregon International) and had a few minutes to relax before heading to hair and makeup for orientation. I am so thankful for the Stand Out Salon and their work with the pageant- I am by no means a "glitz girl" and I would not have known what to do with myself! It was a huge stress-reliever to not have to worry about my hair or makeup before the most important events of pageant week!
Just before orientation!\
I could tell I was in for a crazy but exciting week once orientation started. My favorite part was that our director, Mary Richardson, opened the meeting in prayer- I could tell from my personal interview with her when I applied for my state title that she was a Believer, but what a blessing to see her using her position to proclaim Christ to all those present! The reigning Miss International, Krista Wanous, also openly shared about God's work in her and her family, how He had brought healing after years of brokenness and allowed her to turn her past into her platform, "Art Heals."
After a long bus ride and all the excitement of the evening, I was more than ready to veg out in front of the TV for a bit with Ashley and zonk out. The morning started off with a fun tour of Chicago, including the John Hancock Observatory and the zoo:
View from the top of the observatory
With Miss Teen Wisconsin, Anna, scared of the height!!
With Miss India on the bus!
Dude! It's a TIGER!!!
We also visited the Boys and Girls Club- I assumed we couldn't take pictures of the kids, and only after the fact discovered that they had all signed photo releases. Well, just trust me when I saw the kids were pretty awesome!
We returned to the hotel and had a few hours off before a group dinner, where we listened to inspirational speaker Eddie Peterson. Once again, I was blessed to hear God's word being openly proclaimed as he centered his talk around the Biblical queen Esther and how she used her royal position to save the Jewish people. He urged us to use our modern-day royal positions for a purpose that would honor God. He also mentioned that we were already making a difference by serving that day at the Boys and Girls Club, explaining that many of those precious children would return home to broken homes that night, but would always remember that a group of princesses came to play with them one day. What a powerful reminder of why we were all here!!!
With Miss Mexico- I had lots of fun practicing my Spanish and interpreting for her all week!
Our beautiful Miss International 2012, Krista Wanous!
Tuesday morning began right off the bat with rehearsals- thankfully the opening number wasn't too overwhelming! I had had more opportunities to get to know the other women present and was awed by many of their stories. Some of them had dealt with bipolar and depression, narcolepsy, or celiac's disease. Others had grown up in abusive homes, spent years struggling in school because of undiagnosed dyslexia, or escaped dating violence. However, none of these women let their past stop them or break them- they instead wanted to use their experiences to be a voice for others and make a difference. What an inspiration they were to me!
One of the most powerful moments of the entire week occurred during rehearsal when we learned that one of the producers had had to rush home to her son, who had been hospitalized (he is out of danger and recovering now!). I felt a tug at my heart to lead a group prayer, but I wasn't sure how such a suggestion would be received. I finally went ahead and asked our assistant leader if we could stop and pray for our producer and her son and she said absolutely- and all 43 other girls joined hands and bowed their heads for me to lead them in prayer.
Afterwards, on a few occasions, some of the other women approached me and asked me to pray- grace over a meal, or before going onstage. Wow...when I first applied for the title of Miss Wisconsin International, I prayed that God would use me in this position to point others to Him and bring Him glory. How humbling to see Him answer my prayer in this way! When we set our hearts upon Him and ask Him to use us, He will answer our prayers in mighty ways!!
On Wednesday afternoon, we took a break from rehearsals for the Princess Ball at the Skokie Library. Our events for the afternoon included hearing Krista read her favorite princess story, crawling around on the floor with our little princesses (in fancy cocktail dresses and heels!) to find a "pea" (marble) in honor of "The Princess and the Pea," and helping our girls decorate their own jeweled treasure chests to take home. My assigned princess was three years old and dressed as Snow White- when I asked her if she remembered which princess had the long, long hair, she looked at me excitedly and said, " 'Punzel!!" I know, right? Awwwwwwww!
On Wednesday afternoon, we took a break from rehearsals for the Princess Ball at the Skokie Library. Our events for the afternoon included hearing Krista read her favorite princess story, crawling around on the floor with our little princesses (in fancy cocktail dresses and heels!) to find a "pea" (marble) in honor of "The Princess and the Pea," and helping our girls decorate their own jeweled treasure chests to take home. My assigned princess was three years old and dressed as Snow White- when I asked her if she remembered which princess had the long, long hair, she looked at me excitedly and said, " 'Punzel!!" I know, right? Awwwwwwww!
Ready to go hang out with some little princesses! (My crown didn't want to stay on!)
Thursday ended with Teen Preliminaries. I may be a bit biased, but I'm pretty sure our lovely Miss Teen Wisconsin International killed it!
Isn't she just the cutest thing ever??
Finally, Friday brought preliminaries! Pictures could only be taken by the pros, but here's a few links if you'd like to see the proofs!
My favorite part of the evening was that my good friend from college, Tasha, and her husband, Shawn, made the trek up from Nashville to see me! We went out to dinner afterwards and caught up on everything that had happened over the past five years!
Nothing like reuniting with a longtime friend!
Finally, after another day of rehearsals, Saturday brought the big night! And...here she is, our new Miss International: Miss New York, Jesse Ladoue!!
Top Ten: Miss Texas Samantha Riddle, Miss Pennsylvania Rachel Syktich, 4th RU Miss Idaho Lauren Stopher, 2nd RU Miss Netherlands Jan Humphrey, Miss International 2013 Miss New York Jesse Ladoue, 1st RU Miss Minnesota Charity Bess, 3rd RU Miss Alabama Mollie Parker, Miss California Tiffany Allen, Miss Virgina Ashley Greenfield; Miss North Dakota Taylor Wagner
I am so honored to have shared the stage and been a part of the International class of 2013 with these ladies and all my other sisters! I cannot wait to see what Jesse will accomplish this year- she is an amazing young woman with an incredible, servant heart! I know she will use her crown for purposes beyond herself!!
Thank you to all of you who prayed for me throughout this week, and thank you to all the pageant staff, sponsors, volunteers, and to my 43 new sisters for making this week so amazing!!!
So excited to hear of your week and the fun and the excitement and the opportunities!! We will sure miss you this year here at ECA. So thankful you could come and impact our lives and the lives of our kids!!
ReplyDeleteHugs!!